stevens



(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 1. T. E. STEVENS.

BUGGY BOOT.

' Patented Sept. 6, 1887.

WITNESSES:

- ATTORNEYS,

(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

T.E.STEVE NS.-

. BUGGTY BOOT.

No. 369,567. Patented Sept. 6, 188 7.

WITNESSEs: INVBNTOR aw /ZWLM '5. Km

ATTORNEYS THEODORE E. STEVENS, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

BUGGY-BOOT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 369,567, datedSeptember 6, 1887.

Application filed April 30, 1887.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THEODORE E. SrEvENs, of Syracuse, in the county ofOnondaga, in the State of New Yorlghave invented new and usefulImprovements in Buggy-Boots,of which the following, taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in buggyboots, and has for itsobject the production of a strong, light, and economical boot, soconnected to the vehicle-body and seat-frame as to be readily raised orlowered or removed without the necessity of unscrewing or removing anyof the fastening appliances; and to this end the invention consists,essentially, of detachably connecting the boot to the vehiclebody bymeans of hooks and eyes secured, respectively, to the body and boot, asmore specifically described hereinafter.

It consists, also, in the detail construction and arrangement of thedetachable connecting means; also, in combining the frame with aspringconnection for drawing the boot forward under the seat-frame;also, in the do tail construction and arrangement of the parts, all ashereinafter more fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In specifying my invention reference is had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification, in which, like lettersindicating corresponding parts in all the views, Figure l is anisometric view of the vehiclebody provided with my invention and showingthe boot closed. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section taken on line00 m, Fig. 1, slightly enlarged,illustrating the construction andarrangement of the attaching and securing devices for locking the bootto the body and preventing rattling, &c. Fig. 3 is an enlarged View inside elevation showing the boot raised. Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectionalview illustrating the hook-and-eye connection for securing the forwardend of the boot under the seatsill or seat'frame of the vehicle-body.Fig.

' 5 is an inverted bottom plan of the buggy-boot,

showing the manner of securing the leather covering of the boot to theframe. Fig. 61s a Serial No. 236,610. (No model.)

metal guard-flanges on the boot-frame, which prevent the depending sideflanges of the boot-frame from marring the exterior of the sides of thevehicle-body. Fig. 7 is an enlarged detached view of the frame-pieces ofthe buggy-boot, illustrating more particularly the construction of thesame. Fig. 8 shows an edge View of the same; and Fig. 9 shows atransverse section taken on line y 3 Fig. 7, illustrating the bent metalre-enforcing piece with the depending flange.

A represents the vehicle-body constructed in the usual manner andprovided with my improved buggy-boot B. G is the seat-frame sill. S isthe seat of the vehicle,and r the back endboard of the vehicle-body.

The buggy-boot B is composed of framingpieces a a a a, Figs. 1 and 5,united so as to form a frame of suitable shape for the style ofvehicle-body to which the boot is to be ap plied. The pieces a consistof thin strips of wood re-enforeed by bent sheet-metal strips b, Figs.7, 8, and 9. The sheet-metal strips are bent angularly, as best shown inFig. 9, so as to provide the depending side flange, c, which extendsaround on three sides of the boot B i. e., the rear and two side edgesbeing flanged, while the forward edge, a, Figs. 1 and 5, has no flange.The depending flange c shuts over the outside of the buggy-body, therebypresenting a neat appearance. The thin bent sheet-metal re-enforcedpiece Z), with its de pending flange c, is fastened securely to the thinwooden strip a by screws, nails, or any other suitable fastening means.

The advantages of a boot-frame constructed in this manner are that muchthinner material can be employed in the construction thereof and a verylight frame produced possessing the requisite strength for the purpose.If wood were used solely, the frame would necessarily be heavy andbungling, whereas by combining the thin sheet-metal reenforce pieceswith the thin wooden strips the frame is light, strong, and a tastyfinish can be given to the boot. Furthermore, it is of specialimportance in the construction of buggy-boots that the frame of the bootbe made as thin as possible, since, as the boot rests on the top orupper edge of the body, if made too thick the body of the Vehicle ismade to appear higher at the back end than at the front, and thereforeout of proportion. Furthermore, the light wood or inner frame, a, of theboot is designed not only to make, in combination with the metalre-enforce strip 1), a thin, light, and durable boot-frame, but itaffords, also, a suitable base upon which to nail the covering of theboot on the inner side, thereby making a neater appearing and at thesame time cheaper boot than when stitched on, as in the usualconstruction.

The sheet-metal depending flange on the outer edges of the frame, aswill be observed, extends slightly below the top of the vehiclebody, notfor the purpose of inclosing the back ends of the body, but sufficient]y to cover any defect in the perfect fit of the boot-frame to the topedge of the body, thus adding to the neat appearance.

In applying the covering of the boot to the boot-frame constructed asdescribed above, the covering material is stretched over and around thedepending flanges 0, Figs. 5 and 9, and nailed to the under side of thethin wooden strip a, as best illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

As stated above in describing the construction of the boot-frame, thefacility with which the covering can be secured to the wooden strip bytacking greatly cheapens the construction of the boot, while at the sametime the neat appearance of the boot is not sacrificed, since thecovering of the boot-frame is stretched over and around the flanges inthe manner described.

In order to prevent the depending flanges from marring the sides of thevehicle-body, I provide guard-irons R R, which are angular in shape andsecured to the boot-frame at the forward end thereof, as best shown inFig. 5, and upon the inner sides of the vehicle-body, as best shown inFig. 6, I secure rub-irons R R, which are engaged by the guard-irons R Ron the boot-frame, and such engagement prevents lateral motion of thebuggy-boot when the vehicle is run and effectually accomplishes thedesired result, sincewhen the boot is locked in position on thevehicle-body, by means presently explained, it cannot sway laterally,and the flanges therefore do not come in contact with the sides of thevehicle-body.

The buggy-boot is secured to the vehiclebody by means of a hook-and-eyeconnection at its forward end, said hook-and-eye connection coming underthe seat frame or sill of the vehicle-body, and by an interlockingspringconnection at the rear extremity of the boot.

The forward connection is composed of the hooks h h, the hooks h Itbeing secured at h, Figs. 2 and 4, to the framing-piece F of thevehicle-body and depend from the seat-frame sill O, as best shown in theenlarged detached section, Fig. 4..

The hook it is preferably made of spring metal, for the purpose whichwill be presently explained. The eyes 6 are secured, preferably, in theforward frame-piece, a, of the buggy-boot B in position to engage thehooks h, and are hung onto the hooks h, as best shown in Figs. 1, 2, and4.

It will be observed that the eyes or staples c are inserted into thebuggy-boot frame at a point somewhat in rear of the forward end, 0, ofthe buggy-boot side frame-pieces, Fig. 3, the object being to so connectthe buggy-boot B to the vehicle-body that the boot B may be raised clearof the vehicle-body, as best shown at Fig. 3, and the hook connected tothe eye at the point in the rear of the end 0 forms a rolling-joiutconnection,which permits the forward end of the boot to slide rearwardas the boot B is raised, and thus allows the boot to be raised to agreater extent than if the boot were hinged to the vehicle-body, as inthe devices of this character heretofore made. Furthermore, it will beobserved that the boot is sim ply hung onto the hooks h, and may bereadily detached therefrom without removing or tachments. The springmetal of the hooks also exert a downward pressure on the forward end ofthe boot, and thereby presses the forward end of the boot securely downagainst the upper edge of the vehicle-body.

In order to tension the rolling joint formed by the hook-and-eyeconnection, as described, I provide the spirals 8, Figs. 1 and 3, oneend of which is attached to the hook d at the extreme forward point, e,of the boot-frame, while the other end of the spiral is attached to theseat-frame O at a point forward of and above the point of attachment tothe bootframe. The office of this spring, as stated, is to tension therolling joint, and it also serves to draw the boot-frame forward underthe projecting seat frame or sill G.

If the springs s were omitted, it would be necessary to crowd the frameof I the boot forward in closing it; but by means of the springs 8,connected in the manner described, the frame is drawn forward to properposition automatically as the boot islowered upon the vehicle-body.

The advantage accruing from attaching the spring 5 to the extremeforward point of the boot frame and securing the other extremity to theseat-frame O at a point forward and beyond the point of attachment tothe ITO bootframe lies in the fact that as the boot-body is raised thetension on the springis exerted in a straight line, thus securing itsgreatest tension with the least amount of strain.

I am aware that spiral springs have been employed heretofore onbuggy-boots; but in all of the cases the spring has been connected tothe boot, so that when the boot is raised the spring is twisted, soas'to strain the same unduly, and its efficiency thereby defeated. Ipreferably employ the springs s in the manner described, for the reasonthat they'afford an automatic tension device for drawing the bootforward into its position when the boot is closed, and the springapplied in the manner described may be substituted for the hooks h andeye e.

The rear extremity of the boot is locked to the vehicle-body by means ofdepending rigid U at its forward extremity to thevehicle-body by thespring-hooks h and at the rear extremity by the depending spring-catchesD E,and that consequently the tendency to rattling, due to the motion ofthe vehicle in use, is overcome, since the boot is interlocked with thevehiclebody at its opposite extremities and locked against lateralmotion by the guard-irons R R, resting against the rub-irons R,which, asprevionsly stated, prevents the depending flanges c of the boot-framefrom coming against and marring the sides of the vehicle-body.

The operation of my improved boot will be readily understood from theforegoing.

It will be observed that the boot is detachably connected to thevehicle-body by means of the hooks and eyes, as stated, it being simplynecessary to unhook the spiral springs from their connection with theseat-frame 0, when the boot may be removed at once by simply raising itoff from the hooks h, and it may be as readily applied when closed down.The depending rigid fasteners D interlock with the spring-catches E,thus securely confining the boot in place.

The device, as stated, is simple, economical to manufacture, very neatin appearance, and very durable in use.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A boot for vehicles detachably connected by spring-hooks dependingbelow the seat-sill, engaging eyes secured to the boot in rear of theforward end thereof, in combination with means, substantially asdescribed, to secure its rearextremity to the vehicle-body,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination Eof the buggy-boot, secured to the body by ahook-and-eye connection,with spiral springs connected at one end tosides of the boot-frame and at the other to the frame of the seat,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination of a buggy-boot and vehicle-body with spiral springsattached to the extreme ends of thesides of the boot-frame,and to theseat-frame at a point forward and above the point of attachment to theboot-frame, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a buggy-boot, the combination of the side bars of the frame withthe guards E R, for preventing lateral movement of the boot,substantially as specified.

5. The combination of the buggy-boot frame, provided with dependingrigid catches, with the vehicle-body provided with springs shaped toengage thecatches on the boot and automatically interlock therewith whenthe boot is closed, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof Ihave hereunto signed my name, in the presence oftwo attesting witnesses, at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in theState of New York, this 27th day of April, 1887.

THEODORE E. STEVENS.

Witnesses:

FREDERICK H. GIBBS, E. O. CANNON.

